The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled its plan for an online privacy bill of rights intended to protect consumers on the Web. It gives consumers the right to know what information is being collected about them and calls on all browser makers to implement easy-to-use "do not track" technology, among other things.

Officials from the Federal Trade Commission and National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) said that, ideally, Congress will implement the administration's recommendations. But in the interim, the agencies will be meeting with everyone from Internet firms to consumer groups to craft rules that companies could voluntarily adopt in the absence of legislation.

Companies that agree to adhere to the code of conduct will be held responsible by the FTC - just as a company is bound today to follow the FTC's privacy commitments. "In addition, the Administration will work with Congress to develop legislation that provides the FTC and State Attorneys General with specific authority to enforce the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," NTIA said.

The proposed bill of rights includes seven protections:

Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data organizations collect from them and how they use it.

Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily understandable information about privacy and security practices.

Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that organizations will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.

Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.

Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data are inaccurate.

Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.

Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

This is not the first time the administration has backed a privacy bill of rights. Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, told the Senate Commerce Committee in March 2011 that the administration supports a bill that is "broad and flexible enough to allow consumer privacy protection and business practices to adapt as new technologies and services emerge." A month later, Sens. John Kerry and John McCain teamed up to introduce a bill that would do just that, but it did not pass.

The plan, meanwhile, also calls for international cooperation. "The plan emphasizes mutual recognition of privacy frameworks, an international role for codes of conduct, and enforcement cooperation," the administration said.

Do Not Track

Another component of today's proposal is the ability to opt-out of having your online activity tracked.

The FTC has been calling for online "do not track" options since late 2010. Essentially, "do not track" works like the agency's "do not call" list. Just like a consumer can choose not to receive calls from telemarketers, they can choose not to be tracked on the Web. As a result, their Web-surfing history would not be sent to third-party sites and their activity would not be used to serve up targeted advertisements, among other things.

In the last year, browser makers have implemented a number of "do not track" options. As PCMag software analyst Michael Muchmore found out, the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser - IE9 - has the strongest option of the major browsers. Tracking Protection "allows users to block tracking sites (such as DoubleClick) from following your Web surfing history and tracking you," he wrote in his review of IE9. "You can enable the feature explicitly in settings and choose a list provider of sites to block, or have it automatically create a list based on how often a third-party site phones home from different sites you visit."

In January 2011, Google introduced a Chrome extension called Keep My Opt-Outs, which lets users permanently opt out of ad-tracking cookies. Mozilla, meanwhile, uses a "Do Not Track" HTTP header in Firefox. Web sites can check if they want to be tracked, but "the Mozilla answer relies on the ad networks to abide by users wishes, whereas Microsoft just blocks the trackers from communicating with your browser," Muchmore found in his review of Firefox 10.

Last year, there were reports that Apple added a "do not track" option to a test version of its Safari browser in Lion, but it has not yet made an appearance.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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